Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Magnificent Seven’ Lives Up to the Adjective in Its Title

September is traditionally the month of box office quiet after the summer movie season concludes, a chance for studios to unload movies that wouldn’t find their audience elsewhere in the year and an opportunity for everyone to recharge their batteries before the big movies return in October. But nobody told Sully, which is a bigger hit than most of the summer fare released in 2016. And now, nobody told The Magnificent Seven, which leapt into the number one spot with a very strong debut.

Film

Weekend

Per Screen

1

The Magnificent Seven

$35,000,000

$9,526

$35,000,000

2

Storks

$21,805,000

$5,560

$21,805,000

3

Sully

$13,830,000 (-36.1)

$3,497

$92,393,000

4

Bridget Jones’s Baby

$4,520,000 (-47.3)

$1,543

$16,457,000

5

Snowden

$4,144,000 (-48.2)

$1,697

$15,139,000

6

Blair Witch

$3,950,000 (-58.8)

$1,266

$16,128,000

7

Don’t Breathe

$3,800,000 (-32.6)

$1,559

$81,110,000

8

Suicide Squad

$3,110,000 (-33.9)

$1,432

$318,133,000

9

When the Bough Breaks

$2,500,000 (-54.4)

$1,731

$26,613,000

10

Kubo and the Two Strings

$1,103,000 (-56.6)

$912

$45,954,000

The Magnificent Seven doesn’t represent the biggest opening in the career of star Denzel Washington, but it’s near the very top, edging out The Equalizer while trailing American Gangster and Safe House. In an age where movie stars are becoming less of a driving factor in driving box office, his name continues to pack houses, even when the movie in question is a western. $35 million is an impressive start for this film and if it follows the track record of previous Washington-headlining movies, it’ll crack $100 million at the very least.

Meanwhile, Storksopened in second place with a slightly underwhelming $21 million, a number that would be disastrous for an animated movie made with a Pixar or Disney Animation budget. But with a reported budget of only $70 million, that’s a decent-enough start, especially if the film has legs (or rather, wings). Family movies tend to open a little smaller and last longer than other mainstream releases, so Storks could be a hit yet.

While it was dethroned from the top spot, Sully continued to do strong business in third place, dropping only 36% for a $92 million total so far. Clint Eastwood’s film should cross $100 million by next week and it still has a strong shot at hitting $150 million if nothing comes along to completely derail it. This is a stronger performance than anyone saw coming.

The rest of the top 10 fell about as expected. Bridget Jones’s Babydropped to fourth place with $4 million, bringing its current total to $16 million. Snowden dropped a hefty 48% in fifth place, earning $4 million for a $15 million total. Both films were relying on a strong second weekend built on word-of-mouth and that simply didn’t emerge. However, the biggest drop-off goes to Blair Witch, which fell a brutal 58% for a weekend haul of just under $4 million. With $16 million in the bank so far, Adam Wingard’s sequel will turn a profit against its $5 million budget, but it is far from the giant hit Lionsgate was hoping for.

The rest of the top 10 won’t offer too many surprises. Don’t Breatheis still one of the surprise hits of the year and is going to get really close to $100 million at the domestic box office. Suicide Squad is going to end its run as a sizable hit, albeit one that has a few asterisks. When the Bough Breaks is set to exit the top 10 by next week, but it’s successful enough for what it is. And in tenth place is Kubo and the Two Strings, which never quite rebounded from its weak opening and will end its run as a financial disappointment.